A PIZZA made in Bolton has been withdrawn from sale in Asda supermarkets in the latest alert over the cancer-causing food dye Sudan 1.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued a warning after tests revealed that Asda's Flavours of the World Moroccan Chicken Pizza Flatbread contained traces of the cancer-causing dye.

The pizza, made by Bolton-based supplier Stateside Foods, is now being withdrawn from shelves at supermarkets around the country.

The latest discovery of dye came after the FSA asked companies to do checks on their products in the wake of the Sudan 1 alert last month.

The source of the contamination on the pizza is not thought to be connected to the previous Sudan 1 scare, when a batch of Crosse and Blackwell Worcester Sauce containing the dye sparked Britain's largest product recall.

It is still unclear how the illegal dye ended up in Asda's own brand pizza, but it is thought to have come from a harissa spicy moroccan sauce supplied to Stateside Foods by Keddies Saucemasters- a food supplier based in South Wales.

Stateside Foods, which also produces chilled and frozen pizzas for other major supermarket chains including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Somerfield, and Morrisons, is understood to have discovered the banned dye earlier this week.

Refund

Asda has withdrawn the product from sale and is advising anyone who bought the é2.98 pizza with a use-by-date of March 22 to contact their nearest store for a refund.

The FSA launched an investigation after they were alerted about the problem by Stateside Foods on Tuesday . It is not known how many Asda customers may be affected.

But FSA advisors say that all the contaminated chilli powder in this case has been accounted for and it has not been used elsewhere in food production.

Officials are advising customers that the health risk is very small, but they say it is sensible not to eat the pizza.

Last month 580 products were recalled after a contaminated batch of Worcester Sauce got into thousands of food products including many ready-made meals.

A spokesman for the FSA said: "After the Sudan 1 alert last month, we asked companies to do checks on their products. One of these companies did tests and found that a product was contaminated via the chilli that went into it. Now we are carrying out investigations into this matter."

Sudan dyes are red dyes used for colouring, solvents, oils, waxes, petrol, shoe and floor polishes. They have been previously found in some chilli powder imported from India. Sudan dyes are not allowed to be added to food in the UK and the rest of the EU as they have been linked to cancer.